The Average Journey
by Nanashio
Summary: Tristan needs to form a party and complete a journey with unknown perils. Beware the badly used RPG references, shounenai, and attempted humour.
1. Of Intros and 'Ferns'

**Disclaimer:** Yu-Gi-Oh! and its characters are not my property. The RPG references also used in this fic are not my property either. So, don't sue, I'm not gaining any funds for writing this.

**Warnings:** ... um, right... shounen-ai? Dub!Names, too. Bear with me, I doubt I'll update this that fast either. I just wanna get something done, y' know? Hai hai...

Go away, I really dun like you (_throws cookie at Slump_)... Moving on...

* * *

**Chapter 1, Of Intros and 'Ferns'**

Tristan tilted his head thoughtfully, as he folded his arms. After a moment, he studied his surroundings. Then he nodded slightly, as he grinned wryly to himself. What he had in mind would have to do.

It was a plain day; there was nothing overly exciting happening. Or anything overly boring. It was just a day. The skies were average, the wind was average, everything about the day was average. It wasn't peaceful, nor was it violent. No, it was just an average day in the small town of Mojzis.

Tristan Taylor was your average young man. He wasn't bad to look at, but he also wasn't one to catch one's eye, right off the bat. He didn't do anything, at least not anything that would show a typical person his skills. What sort of skills, one might ask. Well, certain skills that would define Tristan from others.

And defining oneself was important, especially if one had a complicated journey ahead of oneself. One also had to prepare oneself for rather poorly concealed foreshadowing.

Tristan only sat there, on a large stone, staring out at the landscape. He was on a large bluff overlooking the small town of Mojzis. A single blade of grass was clenched lightly between his teeth, as he closed his eyes, enjoying the very small average breeze that blew past him. He was average, but there was small differences from his 'average' than most would realize. For one, he was taller than average. But everything else about him wasn't as intriguing. He had brown hair, hazel eyes, and a rather strong build, yes, average.

After a long, quiet, and uneventful, moment of just staring at the landscape, Tristan got back to his feet, and straightened his regular tan cloak, while heading back down the trail, back to the town of Mojzis.

As soon as the young man entered his small house, he was grabbed by his shoulders in an urgent way. Tristan blinked in slight confusion, not at all surprised. No, nothing unexpected ever happened in the average town of Mojzis.

"4th cousin?" Tristan blinked.

"Uh, don't you mean 'mom'?" the woman asked, with a scowl.

"... That's too common," shrugged Tristan. "Now you're my 4th cousin."

"Wouldn't that make me younger than you?" the woman asked.

"Maybe."

She pointed at the crows' feet at either corner of her eyes. "Then how would that explain my obvious seniority over you?" she demanded.

Tristan tilted his head thoughtfully again.

"Are you immortal?" the woman asked, eyes wide with surprise.

"Well, n-no... no, no, no... th-that would make me above average," Tristan answered with a quick shake of his head.

"Then, why..?"

"Never mind... why're you holding me?" Tristan asked, laughing nervously.

"Oh... right," Tristan's 4th cousin stepped back, and gained an expressionless expression. "Tristan, you need to go on a journey," she said.

Tristan blinked, "why?"

"Because I said so."

"What am I journeying for?"

"Doesn't really matter, does it?"

"Well, I'd say it's kind of essential to know what I'm journeying for..." Tristan pointed out. "Y' know, just for reference on which way I should go."

"Look, it doesn't matter what your beginning journey is, you're just gonna end up needing to take another journey somewhere else right afterward, anyways. Right?" the 4th cousin pointed out.

"... I guess?"

Tristan's 4th cousin then pushed him towards the door again, shoving a satchel in his hand. "Here y' go, some medical supplies."

Tristan blinked, accepting the satchel, as he opened it to peer at its contents. The basics..? "25 Potions, 10 Mega-Potions, 25 Ethers, 50 Elixers, and 50 Phoenix Downs?" Tristan blinked several times. "Uh, isn't this a little much?"(**1**)

"Shut up, I'm trying to help you out here."

"If you wanna help me out, you can tell me where I'm going, and what exactly I'm looking for."

"Shut up, and get going," Tristan's 4th cousin replied shortly, then shoved him out the door.

Tristan blinked many times, still holding his satchel, while watching the frontdoor, very confused. Then the frontdoor opened again, bringing a grin to Tristan's face. "Great, you were kidding, now how about--..?"

A sack of gil was thrown at Tristan, which he quickly caught in his other hand. And again, as the door slammed shut again, Tristan could only blink over and over. Then he looked into the sack, his eyes widening: 50,000 gil?(**2**)

"Hey! 4th cousin! Where'd you get this kinda cash?" Tristan shouted at the house.

"Get journeying! Or else!" 4th cousin snarled.

Sweatdropping, Tristan stepped back, then hooked the satchel to his belt under his cloak. Then he tied the sack of... downright 'wow-like' amount of loot on his belt, alongside his medical goods. Then he turned, looking left, then right; or east, then west, if one wanted to get technical.

Shrugging, Tristan just started heading south-west. Rather than decide to allow the wind to lead him, Tristan decided to just follow the trail.

**ooooXXXoooXXXoooo**

"Okay, I'm journeying..." Tristan muttered to himself. "I've no idea why I'm journeying, but it's what I'm doing. I have plenty of cash, and enough medical supplies to open a small clinic, so..." he paused, looking up further at the trail.

Then he took out his sack of 50,000 gil again, staring at it with a quirked eyebrow. "Yeesh, that's a load of money to haul around so early on a journey..."

"You bet it is!"

Tristan blinked, looking around in confusion. "Who's there?" he asked.

"Please, just drop the sack of money, and leave. Please choose, your money... or your... life? No, um... your money, or your... shoes? No, that's mean... um, your money or your... oh, just please leave the gil and go away."

Obviously, whomever was trying to steal from Tristan, he was an awfully polite and timid sort of... thief? "Oh, you're after money..?" Tristan asked. "Well, uh, just come here, and I'll give you some. I have plenty."

"Really?" the voice asked. Then paused, "wait, that's not right. I have to steal it from you."

"Why?" Tristan blinked.

"It's the right thing to do."

"To steal?"

"No, I mean it's the right thing for me to do."

"To steal?"

"Yes... uh, no! I mean, uh..."

"You mean, '_you're a thief, and stealing is what thiefs do_', right?" Tristan smiled.

"Exactly!"

"Well, I think if you wanna steal my money, thief, you'll have to fight me for it."

"... B-but, that's mean..."

"Fighting?"

"Yeah."

Tristan raised an eyebrow, then laughed a bit. "You're a crazy thief, I think," he commented good-naturedly. "It's not a bad thing... but, uh... if you wanna be a thief, you do have to rely on violence, every now and then."

"But... I don't want to... fight."

"Then just lemme give you some of my gil."

There was slight rustling among the leaves, then a funny black and dark red fern popped up. Tristan's eyes bulged a bit, as he stared in shock. "Ah! You're a thief fern!" he choked out.

"Don't be silly," the black and red fern said, turning to face Tristan; the front of the fern had golden vines hanging from its black and red spiky fronds. Then the fern blinked large and impossibly innocent violet eyes at our average-man-as-hero.

Tristan could only stare in surprise at the sweet angelic features of the black and red fern. "Wow... uh, what're you?" he asked, perplexed.

"A thief," the large violet eyes blinked again.

"N-no, I mean... just... yikes. Thieves shouldn't look like you! Thieves are dirty, ugly crooks!" said Tristan, pointing at the black and red fern, his eyes still wide with shock.

"They are?"

"You're no thief!"

"I am so!" the thief argued.

"Nope, you're not."

"Oh, you just watch!" then in a sudden burst of speed, the little fern posing as a thief darted at Tristan, then swung his arm out, and in a flash, he was suddenly holding Tristan's satchel. "See! I can steal!" the 'fern' started to say with triumph, as he leapt back. "I stole your items from you, and..."

Tristan could only stare again in surprise. Wow, the little guy was fast.

"... And with your items that I stole, I can... leave you... to keep... journeying... without them..." the 'fern's voice trailed off, his eyes welling over with guilt. He darted forward again, before bowing his head, holding out small slender hands, along with the satchel, in a timid offering. "I'm sorry, please take them back."

Tristan blinked many more times. "Huh?" he mumbled in confusion.

"You might get hurt in your travels," the 'fern' murmured. "I can't have that. Your items will help you feel better if you get hurt."

Tristan burst out laughing, while accepting the satchel again. "I told you you're no thief," he said warmly.

The 'fern's lower lip stuck out, "I'm trying my best here."

"You are pretty fast though," commented Tristan, as he rested his hand against the little 'fern's shoulder. "I'm travelling alone, so why not join me? I could use some good company like you."

"... I am?" the 'fern' asked. "You are? Can I? You could?" the fern suddenly smiled widely. "Oh, that'd be great! I'd love to!"

"Alright then," Tristan grinned, as he gave the 'fern' an approving thumb's-up. "The little Fern-Thief joined my Party!"

The 'Fern-Thief' sweatdropped, "I'm not a fern. And my name's Yugi."

"Oh, Yugi..." Tristan smiled and shrugged. "Well, if it were up to me, I'd call you 'Fern-Thief'..."

"Yes, well..." Yugi cleared his throat. "Let's be glad that it _isn't_ up to you."(**3**)

"I guess... so, you're a thief?"

"Yep."

"Cool, I have plenty of items, but it doesn't hurt to have my thief steal more stuff," said Tristan, with a nod.

"Um... okay," Yugi smiled weakly. "I'll do my best."

"Alright then!" Tristan grabbed Yugi's hand, and proceeded to march ahead. "Come on, Fern-Thief! Onwards, to continue our journey!"

"I'm Yugi! You can't change my name!" protested Yugi, but followed obediently nonetheless

**! TBC !**

**

* * *

**

(**1**) FF items. Ether and Elixers, my personal favorite. Can never have enough of the stuff.

(**2**) Gil, FF's form of currency. Definitely can never have enough of the gil.

(**3**) Name Changing, FF, fun fun fun, renaming characters.

**ooooXXXooo**

Yeah. I dunno either v.v;; But I laughed while doing it, so maybe that's a good thing XD


	2. More Party Members

**Disclaimer:** Yu-Gi-Oh! and its characters are not my property. The RPG references also used in this fic are not my property either. So, don't sue, I'm not gaining any funds for writing this.

**Warnings:** ... um, right... shounen-ai? Dub!Names, too. Bear with me, I doubt I'll update this that fast either. I just wanna get something done, y' know? Hai hai...

Oh yeah, thanks to the hit-inducers, and Rustus. You the man!

* * *

**Chapter 2, More Party Members**

They were tramping through a forest now. Why they strayed from their original path, no one really knew, but they had to. Well, Tristan wanted to, so that didn't quite equal 'having' to do something. It just seemed easier to walk through the forest, as everyone knew the shortest distance between two points was a straight line.

Then a sweet music sound fluttered in the air whilest journeying.

"Yugi Yugi bo Bugi," Yugi paused to laugh. "Heheheh, Bugi... ahem, Banana Fana fo Fugi, fee fi mo Mugi. Yugi," he sang out, swinging the new satchel he was given. As Tristan's new thief, he had to carry an empty satchel, what with his new stealing he had to do.

"Great singing, but why are you singing?" Tristan asked curiously, whom was walking a couple steps behind Yugi. Not that he minded the singing, it was kinda nice.

"Don't know... if I didn't, we'd be travelling in silence, and I don't like doing average stuff like that." Yugi smiled brightly as he answered. For a thief, he certainly didn't look like one. But that was already covered.

"Ah, I see," Tristan nodded in understanding.

"How do we go about this whole journeying thing anyways?" asked Yugi.

"Don't really know."

"Really?"

"Yup."

Yugi blinked, "that's not a good thing, is it?"

"Don't really know," Tristan shrugged again.

"Well, how do we journey?"

"We're doing it right now."

"By walking?"

"Yup."

"Hm, it's a lot easier than it seems, doesn't it?" Yugi commented.

_step, Step... Step, SNAP. THWISH_. "ACK!" they both yelped, as they were both suddenly hurled into the air. Tristan blinked several times, finding himself sitting uncomforably in a net, his little thief sprawled over him. "What just happened?" they both asked in confusion as they swung and spun helplessly for a bit.

Yugi struggled to at least get off of Tristan, but with no luck. Grimacing, he apologized and flopped back over Tristan's waist. "I knew it was too easy!" he suddenly declared.

"If you knew, why didn't you say something?" Tristan asked, looking up at the top of the net; it was already wound tight, so there didn't seem to be a way to just clamber out of their problem.

"I hesitated," Yugi replied. The branch they were tied to creaked and groaned with the new found weight still settling in. "This stinks," Yugi sighed.

"Yup," Tristan smiled. Then he shrugged, "oh well, it was kind of expected, right?"

"I guess..." Yugi laughed.

**ooooXXXoooXXXoooo**

"Really? The baker?" Tristan asked, his eyes wide.

"Uh-huh," Yugi nodded. "That's what I said, so when he told me that her cousin from Nepal's nephew's cousin's mother said what he said, well I couldn't exactly not talk about it... I mean the poor baker had the right to know, right? So then the butcher went to confront the baker about the whole fiasco, and the candlestick maker, being such a meddlesome busybody tried to make the whole situation worse and..."

"Wait, why'd the butcher have to confront the baker, again?"

"Because, the butcher likes the baker."

"Oh yeah," Tristan waved his hand, for Yugi to continue.

The small thief nodded. "Anyways, about the candlestick maker..."

**ooooXXXoooXXXoooo**

"Hm? Hey, Tea! I caught something!" Joey, a golden-haired hunter, called loudly, waving over his comrade with his (archer's) bow. A rather pretty girl with large blue eyes.

The pretty blue-eyed girl, Tea, sighed in some exasperation, as she walked over, kneeling beside Joey. She stared in surprise; Joey set that trap in what seemed forever ago, and he actually caught something? Okay, that was a mild exaggeration. Joey set the trap 4 winters ago, but for a hunter, that was like forever.

Joey snickered, "alright, looks like we got ourselves a bear and a... uh, a dwarf..? Mm, never had dwarf since I was a kid," he said, rubbing his hands together briskly.

"Looks more like a fern," said Tea, shaking her head.

"Alright, Fern-Dwarf, even better," Joey grinned.

**ooooXXXoooXXXoooo**

"Man, remind me never to tip that candlestick maker... he's so troublesome," said Tristan, shaking his head in mild disgust.

"Will do," Yugi laughed. "Anyways, the baker, well, he's a nice guy and everything, but after the butcher started explaining the whole thing to him he kinda flew off the handle, because he was pretty much being accused of something he never even did. And having the butcher on his back about it didn't help matters, so then they ended up getting in a huge argument. But to try and comfort the baker, the butcher told him--"

"Awwwwwwww, man, you're not a bear!"

Tristan blinked, watching Yugi expectantly. "Well, I guess that'd be comforting..." he said slowly.

Yugi blinked, "no, that's not what he said... he said--" He trailed off, looking down below their net, then he smiled brightly. "Hey, look! People!"

"That butcher wasn't very focused, was he?" asked Tristan, confused.

"No, Tristan, look. People," said Yugi, pointing below them.

Tristan twisted slightly, shifting Yugi a bit higher up his chest, so he could manage to look downwards. He saw a blonde guy, about his age. So he raised his hand in friendly greeting. "Hey there," he said, cheerfully.

Yugi waved as well. "Hi," he smiled.

"Dude... Bear, your Fern-Dwarf talks..." Joey said, pointing up at the net in awe.

Yugi blinked, while Tristan snickered. Playfully, he patted Yugi's Fern-shaped head. "Yup, my Fern-Thief-Dwarf talks," he confirmed.

"I am _NOT_ a Fern!" Yugi protested. "Call me that again, and I will stomp on your feet, I swear!"

"What kinda offer is that?" Joey asked, confused.

"Maybe you should let them down," Tea suggested, joining Joey at his side. She folded her arms, smiling wryly at the pair overhead.

"Hey look, Tristan," Yugi smiled. "A potential love interest for you."

Tristan studied the new arrival carefully, before shaking his head. "I'll have to think about it..." he told Yugi.

"But you need a love interest," Yugi pointed out.

"My love interest isn't that important right now. I'm journeying, remember?"

"But journeying needs a love interest," argued Yugi.

"Fern-Thief, everyone I meet could be a potential love interest... it doesn't have to be a specific person that we come across. Besides..." Tristan paused, pulling Yugi close again, to look down at the pair below. "She looks a little too butch for my liking."

Joey laughed hysterically, while Tea's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Removing a large heavy sword from her sheath, she swung it hard, slicing through the old rope easily.

Tristan and Yugi hovered there for a second, clinging to each other, before gravity laughed in their faces and yanked them both down. Hard. "WAH!" they both yelped, before _THUMP_ing loudly against the forest floor.

Resheathing her sword, Tea folded her arms, smirking smugly.

"Aw, man... Tea, that rope was a family heirloom," Joey sighed, as he reached down to start yanking at the mangled netting.

Tristan winced, sitting back up, since he took the whole fall, literally, acting as Yugi's landing pad.

"Not a very valued 'family heirloom'," Tea rolled her eyes. "You left it out here to get all weathered for four years."

"That's not the point," Joey sniffed. He tugged hard at the net, causing Tristan and Yugi to roll off of it, in a slightly unceremonious way.

Getting back to his feet, Yugi helped Tristan stand again. They both glanced at each other as Joey and Tea continued to argue about lack of respect for heirlooms. Pursing his lips, Tristan gently nudged Yugi over to the 'helpful' pair. Yugi blinked in innocent confusion, but walked closer to them, almost curiously.

Then, unable to help himself, Yugi reached out, and with a quick flick of his wrist, he was holding another satchel. Only this one was Joey's. Calmly, he opened it, fingering through the contents.

"What do you have, Fern-Thief?" asked Tristan.

Yugi walked slowly back to Tristan. "1240 gil, a few potions..." he answered, still thumbing through it. "Uh, a few papers and notes on a poorly thought out plan to take over the world... not very villainous, just wants to try to take it over, and... a recipe for banana bread?"

Joey and Tea both stopped arguing, their eyes wide, as they turned back to Tristan and Yugi. Joey patted at his waist where his satchel was supposed to be. Not finding it, he pointed at Yugi and the satchel he held. "Hey, that's mine!" he yelled.

Tristan laughed, as Yugi blinked cutely at Joey. The thief then held up the satchel, smiling sweetly. "You mean this?" he asked.

"Yes, that!" Joey stormed over, and held out his hand expectantly.

Tristan lightly nudged Yugi again. Yugi blinked, noticing a small pouch tied to Joey's belt. Reaching out, Yugi flicked his wrist again, and ended up holding the small pouch. And while ignoring Joey's outstretched hand, Yugi peered into the pouch. "Hm, a little more gil... a stash, maybe?"

Joey stared dumbfounded, before patting at his waist again. "Hey! That's mine too!"

"Oh for..! Joey, just take 'em back!" Tea ordered. She stomped over, snatching back the blonde guy's satchel and pouch from Yugi.

With a flick of his wrist, Yugi swiped Tea's leather satchel. Peering into it, he smiled.

"You need to learn to keep track of your things, Joey, and..." Tea was lecturing.

"Hm, 3400 gil," Yugi informed Tristan.

"Wanna steal that one?" Tristan asked. "No pressure," he added. He remembered his thief's hesitance to actually take things.

"Uh-huh... look," Joey rolled his eyes, pointing at Yugi for Tea's benefit.

"ACK!" Tea yipped, whirling around, snatching her satchel back. "What is your problem?" she demanded.

"He's a thief," Tristan smiled, resting his hand against Yugi's shoulder. "Good, isn't he?" Before he allowed either of them to answer, Tristan pointed at Tea's sword. "That's cool, are you a warrior?" he asked her.

"Yeah?" Tea blinked.

"Cool, journey with us... I could use a big scary brute like you," grinned Tristan.

_BONK!_

Yugi sweatdropped as Tristan was now laying semi-conscious on the ground. Joey snickered, then pointed at Tea, "See? You _are_ a big scary brute!"

_BONK!_

Yugi sweatdropped a bit more, as Joey accompanied Tristan into a state of semi-consciousness on the ground. He laughed nervously, holding up his hands in a placating manner. "I-I don't think you're scary..." he stammered to Tea.

"But I'm a big brute?" demanded Tea.

"Umm... no?"

"You hesitated!" Tea bellowed.

"Ack!" Yugi yelped, then he turned and fled from the big scary brute of a warrior.

**! TBC !**

* * *

Whee, fun fun fun! Uh, yes... unfortunately there will be more XD Don't mind me, really. Oh yeah, whatever happens happens. Nothing's set in stone, it seems, heh.


	3. Where's the Magic?

**Disclaimer:** Yu-Gi-Oh! and its characters are not my property. The RPG references also used in this fic are not my property either. So, don't sue, I'm not gaining any funds for writing this.

**Warnings:** ... um, right... shounen-ai? Dub!Names, too. Bear with me, I doubt I'll update this that fast either. I just wanna get something done, y' know? Hai hai... and whee to bad SFX, hehe XD

* * *

**Chapter 3, Where's the Magic?**

Tristan was once again walking, flinching as he lightly tapped at the new bump on his head. Yeesh, warriors were big scary brutes, weren't they?

He'd gladly ask his party their opinion, but that couldn't add up to anything good. His long-range fighter had a bump the same as Tristan's, and Yugi was hiding between Tristan and Joey.

And asking Tea's opinion on brutish warriors wasn't the best idea; Tea herself being a warrior and all, a rather strong one no less. But it was good to know that there was some definite strength in his slowly-growing party.

"We need magic..." said Joey out of nowhere, after lowering the bottle of potion he just finished using. "We can't keep using up all the items every time Tea uses her brute-like strength and hurts us--"

_BONK!_

Tea glared down at Joey, as she folded her arms. "Hmph," she sniffed, and look away. Tristan laughed weakly, while Yugi sweatdropped and ducked behind Tristan.

"I don't think we have much to worr--uh, can he hear me?" asked Tristan.

Joey slowly sat up, nursing the new bump keeping his first one company. "Yeah, but no birds in the sand," he mumbled, dazedly.

"He can now," Tea translated, as Tristan blinked in confusion.

"Uh, right... like I was saying, there's really not much to worry about, we have plenty of everything," Tristan smiled assuringly.

"That should be beside the point," said Yugi, peeking out from behind Tristan. "Sooner or later, we're bound to come across something that can't be beaten with just physical force alone."

Tristan cocked a thumb towards Tea, "so you're saying she might be useless in the long run..?"

_BONK!_

Tea folded her arms again, as she glared down at Tristan, whom was now in a semi-conscious state on the ground. Yugi yelped as his cover was dropped; and in some desperation, he whirled around, scrambling into the nearest shrub, quaking with mild fear.

"Anyways, should we move on?" Tea asked, lightly nudging the fallen boys with her foot. "C' mon, get up, I didn't hit you that hard."

Wincing again, Tristan was slow to get back to his feet; and ignoring the dizziness that was making his head spin, he helped Joey back to his feet. "Okay, yes," Tristan mumbled, before staring at Tea. "You mean you can hit harder than that?" he asked, eyes widening in horror.

"... Duh," Tea rolled her eyes.

"Freaky..." Joey muttered, earning another glare from Tea. The archer squeaked and quickly hid behind Tristan, "I wasn't talking about you, Tea! Honest! Just, uh, the ground... yeah, the ground's kinda freaky, I mean look at it! There's some dirt, and small patches of grass here and there, I mean, heh, c' mon! If-if you're gonna have grass, you should at least grow it everywhere, right?"

Tea raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off anyways. "So are we moving on, or what?" she asked casually.

"Yeah, we'll move on," Tristan smiled weakly. "Fern-Thief, how're the bushes?" he called to his thief whom was still hiding.

"Kinda prickly," Yugi called back.

**ooooXXXoooXXXoooo**

"We've only just joined this party, and we already met up with one crazy woman and her pet cats, one insane monster that eats chickens, and a psychotic old man with a berry fetish!" Tea bellowed loudly, breathing hard as they were trying to catch their breath. They ran quite a ways from a psychotic old man actually, a few acres or so.

Yugi took one final deep breath, before sighing. "I-I wouldn't call it a berry fetish," he mumbled. "Maybe he had a point, and..."

"FETISH!"

"Relax, Tea..." Tristan smiled, "we'll just try to find ourselves a mage without asking for the assistance of an eccentric old man--"

"With a berry fetish," Tea muttered.

"Fetish. Fetish fetish... fe-tish. Fet-ish... fetish..." Joey was saying almost to himself, before looking at the others. "Y' know, fetish is a weird word."

"Moving on!" Tea grabbed Joey by the collar and began dragging him away. "Tristan, Thief, let's go already! I want to move on, not stand around and needlessly plot something out like some weirdos who have nothing better to do! We're trying to have a journey here!"

"Point taken," Tristan replied, before shrugging at Yugi helplessly. Then they both obediently tagged after Tea and Joey.

"And I have a name..!" Yugi suddenly pointed out.

**ooooXXXoooXXXoooo**

"Huh."

"What?"

"I think I did it wrong."

"Did what wrong?"

"This look like something helpful to you?"

"... Ugh! What is that?"

"I dunno... I think I got the mixture wrong..."

"It smells disgusting. I don't like it, trash it. Now."

"Okay okay..."

"Not out the window!"

"There's no door..."

".. Oi vey."

**ooooXXXoooXXXoooo**

_SPLAT!_

Joey's eyes widened, "what the hell?" he uttered. Then hesitantly, he reached up with one hand, and gingerly touched the oozing substance in his blonde hair; large dripping blobs rolled down his temples and between his eyes. The substance was a reddish brown color.

"Ugh."

And didn't smell at all pleasant.

Tristan, Yugi, and Tea quickly clamped their hands over their mouths and noses. "What is that?!" they all demanded, gagging quietly.

Joey shook his head violently, flinging the sticky goop every which way, smacking his other party members in the face with it.

"JOEY!" they yelled, darting away quickly, wiping the gunk off.

"Look out below!" an unfamiliar voice shouted from above.

Freezing, they all looked at each other; only to realize none of their voices were _that_ childlike... Yugi being the small exception, but he only shook his head. He didn't say a word. Then they all looked upwards.

High up in the tree was a large knothole that almost seemed like a window. And sticking out of that knothole was a person. Upon squinting, they noticed the person was a young person. And they were very high up in the tree's trunk.

"Hello?" Tristan hollered.

"Did it hit you?" the person yelled.

"Only him," Tristan answered, pointing at Joey.

"And he shook it on us!" Tea called, glaring at the archer.

"Heads up then," the person laughed.

"Who are you?" Yugi called.

"Name's Mokuba. You?"

"Yu--ristan--ey--Tea." they answered at the same time.

"Nice to meet you, Yuristaneytea," the person, Mokuba, called down cheerfully.

"Oh, uh, no..." Tristan grinned weakly. "My name's Tristan, and these guys are Fern-Thief, Joey, and Tea."

"Naw, the little one's name is Fern-Thief-Dwarf... Fern-Thief for short," Joey explained.

Yugi flailed, "that's not my name!"

"Wow, you guys are weird," Mokuba snickered.

"Why're you in a tree?" Tristan called up curiously.

"Punishment," answered Mokuba.

"Man, what'd you do to end up up there?" asked Joey loudly.

"I didn't do anything... it was my brother," Mokuba smiled brightly.

"Where is he?" Tea asked.

Mokuba waved one arm wildly, in a vague gesture of something behind him. "Behind me," he called.

"Mokuba, who are you talking to?" another new voice demanded.

"Who's your brother?" asked Yugi.

"Seto, the White Mage," Mokuba answered.

"Mokuba!" the new voice scolded. "That's enough, who are you talking to?"

"Four weirdos."

"We're not weirdos!" Joey protested. "Y' know what? We're done talking with two freaky brothers in a tree! Stay there forever for all we care..!"

_THWAP!_

"--Ow!" Joey glared hard at Tristan for smacking him upside the head.

"Sorry," Tristan smiled, before turning back to the pair in the tree. "Hey, did you say 'White Mage'?" he called.

"Get lost," the new voice snapped impatiently.

"That's Seto," Mokuba laughed.

Tea smiled, "a white mage... perfect." She quickly grabbed Tristan's arm, "hey, get him to join us, and we can keep going with this journey."

"Yeah, white mages are really powerful and helpful," Yugi agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

"In case you guys forgot, the mage is in a _tree_," Joey reminded them, with a scowl. "Meaning he must've done something not too good."

"But it probably wouldn't hurt to try, right?" Tristan responded, with his already too easy-going smile. "Hey, wanna join us?" he called up to the white mage and his brother.

"No. Get lost."

"Not one to hesitate is he?" Tea commented, as she sweatdropped.

"Join you for what?" asked Mokuba.

"Mokuba!"

"We're on a journey," Tristan answered.

"Journey for what?" Mokuba sounded curious.

"Mokuba!"

Tristan shrugged, though he wasn't sure if Mokuba could see him do it. "Not too sure yet. But we are on a journey," he replied.

Mokuba started to wave again, "sure, count us in."

"At least let me have my say!" Seto bellowed.

"You had your say, and I discredited it," Mokuba replied in a chipper way. Then he turned back down to Tristan and his party. "If you can get us down, me and Seto will join you."

"You can't discredit me!" Seto protested.

"How'll we get them down?" asked Yugi, his brow furrowing in some concern.

"Hm," Tristan folded his arms, tilting his head thoughtfully. "Tea, how heavy's your sword?" he asked.

"Heavier than you can manage," answered Tea shortly.

Tristan grinned; ah, warriors, they were not the type to mince words. "Alright, how strong's your swing?"

Staring at the tree intently, Tea grinned a bit. "Gotcha..." she strolled up to the tree, while pulling the large sword from its sheath. "Back up, the tree will have some kickback," she told them.

"You're gonna cut it down?!" yelped Yugi, eyes wide with alarm.

"Backing up," Tristan grabbed Yugi and Joey's arms and began leading them away.

Tea smirked slightly, grasping the sword in both hands with a firm grip, close to the hilt to avoid too much damage. Raising the sword over her shoulder, she turned her feet, twisting her upper body; the muscles in her arms tensed, then in a smooth graceful motion, she spun, sword on the downswing, cutting through the redwood. After following through, she swung her sword one more time, down the opposite side of the trunk in steady arc, managing to slash through the tree's trunk neatly on both sides.

Grinning, she backed up, shouldering her sword, and cupping one hand around her mouth. "Timber!" she yelled.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" came a furious roar.

"AAAAAGH!" Mokuba gave a cry. Their tree was falling over! Slowly but surely falling over! The forest floor was now rushing up to meet them! "HOLY DAMN!"

"Don't swear, Moku--WHAT THE FU--!?"

_-KUH-RAAAAAAAAAASSHHHH!_

Tristan was holding his thief protectively, while Joey was ducking behind them. Upon seeing Tea standing so calmly at the fallen tree, they straightened up.

Yugi's eyes were wide with disbelief. "How'd you..?" he started to ask shakily.

"Abilities," Tea shrugged, with a grin. "C' mon, let's go meet 'em."

**ooooXXXoooXXXoooo**

"Of all the stupid, psychotic, insane, crazy, idiotic, moronic, _dumbass_ things to do..!" Seto was snarling, releasing Mokuba and himself from the protective shell he had casted.

"It wasn't that bad, Seto," Mokuba smiled.

"She could've killed you!"

"You were here."

"Regardless!"

_toktok._ Someone was knocking on the fallen tree. Then, "hello in there," a male voice called cheerfully.

**ooooXXXoooXXXoooo**

The young person, Mokuba, emerged from the knothole first. Tristan quickly took in the boy's appearance; long dark midnight blue hair, and eyes the color of the evening seas. He was clad much like... well, clad like no one he'd seen before.

"Hi, I'm Mokuba," Mokuba re-introduced himself, with a warm and bright smile.

Tristan smiled back, "hey, I'm Tristan. And you remember Fern-Thief, Joey, and Tea, right?"

"That's not my name" Yugi mumbled.

"Hi," Mokuba stood up on the trunk, and dusted himself off. Then he glanced at Tea, "that was pretty cool, you're pretty tough... well, for a girl anyways."

Tea's eyebrow twitched, "what? Of all the rude and sexist things to say!" She raised her fist, and brought it down, with the obvious intention of bopping Mokuba.

_DONK._

"OW!" Tea yelped, and hugged her fist protectively. She just hit some weird shield-like thing. "What just happened?" she blinked in surprise. Turning back to the knothole, her eyes widened.

Kneeling on the trunk, still in the process of crawling out of the fallen tree, was a young man. His hair was a rusty red, and his eyes an icy blue. He was clad in the white robes many white mages were known to wear. And his staff was raised, pointing at Mokuba, as he glared viciously at the warrior. "No one is permitted to lay a finger on my brother," he hissed, eyes glinting menacingly.

Joey stared in fascination at Mokuba. He quickly crawled up on the fallen tree, and tapped at the shield that was surrounding the boy.

_tunktunk._

"Cool," Joey grinned, and continued to tap at the shield.

Standing up, the white mage stalked up to Joey, and smacked him over the head with his staff. "Stop that," he snapped.

"Ow! Hey, that..!" Joey started to yell. Only to pause, and blink in surprise. "Huh?"

"What is it?" asked Yugi.

"That didn't hurt..." Joey finished, patting the place on his head where the white mage hit him. "Didn't hurt at all... in fact, I feel kinda... better. My head's not killing me like earlier."

"Of course it didn't hurt," the white mage snorted, looking vastly irritated. And he folded his arms, "white mages can't hurt people... even if they tried."

"Really?" Tristan smiled, "I didn't know that."

The white mage blinked, then scowled. "Stop staring."

"Sorry," Tristan shrugged. "Just, I never saw a white mage before... uh, here. Let me help you," he held up a hand for the white mage to take.

"... No," Seto muttered, and jumped down to the ground. "Thanks anyways," he added after a moment's hesitation.

Mokuba reached over and took Tristan's hand for himself, hopping down off the fallen tree with Tristan's help. "Alright, you got us down," he smiled. "So, we'll go with you. Right, Seto?"

"... I guess," the white mage muttered. He glanced at Tristan, bowing his head slightly. "I, Seto, the White Mage will accompany you on this journey."

"Alright, Seto and Mokuba joined my party," Tristan grinned. And he also remained oblivious to his thief standing behind him, waving a '**_Love Interest Joined the Party?_**' flag.

**! TBC !**

* * *

Yup, chapter 3 has now passed XD Took a while, but I wasn't able to upload anything for some odd reason O.o; Yeah, anywho... who better to be a White Mage!? And Mokuba's job, well... that'll have to wait a bit, heh.


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